“Get out of my way, you stupid block of wood!” They shoved her rudely, running past her without a single word of apology.

She staggered, the books in her hand spilling to the ground. The students around her stared at her, pointing and murmuring to each other in too-loud whispers. But none of them made a move to help her.

Her face didn’t change; she said nothing as she knelt down, collecting her books at a leisurely pace. As she reached out for the last book, a high-heeled shoe suddenly kicked it out of her reach.

She looked up, a slight frown creasing her eyebrows this time, only to see a face that had become extremely familiar to her in the past year.

Goo Hara leaned over her, her face twisted into its usual smug expression. “Why hello there, Joo Hyun. Sorry, I didn’t see you, I hope you don’t mind.”

Joo Hyun’s eyes met Hara’s; her fist tightened for the briefest of moments and Hara’s eyes flared, daring Joo Hyun to challenge her.

Then Joo Hyun gave a silent, curt nod. Hara smirked, a triumphant smirk, and patted Joo Hyun on the head. “There’s a good girl. Come on, girls.” She led her posse away, ignoring Joo Hyun.

Joo Hyun picked up the last book and rose awkwardly as she tried to balance all the books in the crook of her left arm. She glanced at her watch, and her eyes widened fractionally.

Five minutes to class! Joo Hyun set off at a brisk walk, hoping she could make it in time to get a good seat.

As she trotted into class, she was dismayed to find that all the front row seats had been taken; biting back a sigh, she had no choice but to take the leftmost seat on the fourth row, where she could hardly see what the teacher was writing.

She quickly rearranged her books, taking out her writing pad and setting it neatly before her. She opened up her pencil case, taking three pens, a pencil, and an eraser, and set them in front of her in order.

 She heard a low snicker from the people who sat behind her, but she ignored it, used to it as she was.

The professor glanced at his watch, then stood up, ready to start the lesson. He clapped his hands. “So. How many of you did the homework I assigned last week?”

There was a murmur from the class, and Joo Hyun heard soft, panicked whispers from behind her.

“What homework?!”

“Oh God I thought it was due next week…”

“Damn, I can’t even be bothered…”

The professor’s eyebrows were lowering into a frown. “Surely you all know what the homework is? I told all of you to go back and read Macbeth and answer Assignment 1 which was posted on the class website!”

Calmly, Joo Hyun took out the homework that was assigned. Another murmur ran through the class, this time a much more offensive one.

“Nerd… up all the time…bloody teacher’s pet!”

The rest of the lesson passed as it usually did; the professor went through his lesson, and almost every single question he asked was answered perfectly by Joo Hyun, which, of course, was accompanied by whispers of “Teacher’s pet” and “-up”.

Neither the teacher nor Joo Hyun reacted to the whispers; they’d heard it too many times to even care.

As the bell rang, students began to file out of the lecture theatre, whooping at the end of the lesson. The professor waved Joo Hyun down; she approached him, and he addressed her bluntly, “Joo Hyun, there’s a problem with your school fees..”

Joo Hyun’s expression did not change. “I am aware of that. I have been trying to make ends meet, but I-”

"I'm sorry, Joo Hyun, but this is not working out.” The professor sighed, his brows raised. “Joo Hyun, your grades are stellar. You’re amongst the best students this school has ever seen, no doubt about that. But the problem is your school fees. Even the best student can’t stay in this school without paying school fees. I know you were hoping to get the full scholarship at the end of the year so you could finish your schooling, but if you can't pay for your school fees till the end of the year then I'm afraid we'll have no other choice. You’re already a month late on your school fees, and the school management can’t let you delay much longer, Joo Hyun.”

Joo Hyun’s fingers twisted together as she spoke quietly, “Please, professor. You are aware that I have to pay for my own school fees and my rental fees, and it really is difficult for me to earn enough money. As it is, I still owe my landlord two months’ worth of rent – I really cannot get the money at the moment.”

The professor picked up his books. “Then you’ll just have to get ready to withdraw from the school, Joo Hyun.”

Without another word to her, he strode out of the lecture theatre.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Joo Hyun reached the café she worked at, she noticed that her manager was waiting outside.  As she approached the café, the manager, Kim Junsu, waved her over. “Joo Hyun, I’m giving you a month’s notice.”

Joo Hyun stared at Junsu. “But why? Is it that I did something wrong? I was not aware of anything…”

“No, it’s not that you did something wrong, it’s just that my mother’s ill, and I’m going back to Busan to take care of her. She doesn’t have long left, so I intend to close the café and return to Busan, and I’m afraid you’ll have to find other employment.” Junsu explained, a little apologetically. “I know your situation is dire, but I don’t have much other choice. I can recommend you to some other cafés that need hired help, of course.”

Joo Hyun forced a slight smile, bowing. “I would appreciate that, sir. I will get to work now.”

Junsu nodded, stepping out of the way to let Joo Hyun enter the café. As Joo Hyun put on her uniform, two of her fellow co-workers, Jooyeon and Kahi, strode in, carrying trays and cups. The two of them had been working in the café two years longer than Joo Hyun, and were close friends.

Not so with Joo Hyun, though.

As they set their trays down, Jooyeon shot Joo Hyun a glare. “Just great. You come along and the café ends up closing. I bet this is all your fault.”

Joo Hyun stayed silent, her eyes fixed on the cup of tea that she was preparing.

"Stupid ," Kahi muttered, "She can't even talk..."

Joo Hyun calmly placed the cup on the tray, bowing respectfully to them as she walked past.

"Antisocial little freak." She heard Jooyeon sneer behind her, "All she ever does is stay silent and walk around pretending to be the perfect employee-"

The door swung close, shutting off Jooyeon's words.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joo Hyun hurried up the stairs, her eyes sparkling for the first time today. Home at last! She'd been waiting all day for this.

As she made her way up the stairs, she heard the faint sound of a bass instrument. She frowned; was someone playing music on the stereo? She was surprised; her neighbours were usually quiet, which was something she was more than happy with, of course, since it gave her quiet time at home.

The music was getting louder; she was almost certain that someone was blasting his music at maximum volume somewhere in the building. How inconsiderate.

By the time Joo Hyun reached her apartment, the music was nearly deafening, rock music screaming out from whosever's stereo that was. And the best thing? The music was originating from the apartment opposite hers.

Joo Hyun bit back a sigh as she unlocked her door. She knew that the person living in the apartment opposite hers was moving - how could she not, when she was hearing people moving heavy boxes up and down the stairs all day long? She had been anticipating some peace and quiet once the new neighbour moved in, but this-

She shook her head as she entered the apartment, locking the door behind her. She took out her homework, sitting down at her study table to revise her notes.

The music was louder; she recognized the hit song Gangnam Style, by the rapper Psy, and rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. That song was so overrated, she just could not understand why people liked it so much.

She hadn’t thought it possible, but the music grew louder still, accompanied by yells of excitement and the voice of people singing to Gangnam Style at the top of their lungs.

She couldn’t stand it anymore. She slammed her book close, striding to the door. As she approached her neighbour’s door, she raised her hand to ring the doorbell.

Before she could reach for the doorbell, the door swung open, and someone stumbled out.

The man’s hair was disheveled, his eyes wild. He wore torn jeans, and was shirtless; Joo Hyun could see tattoos on his body and shoulder. She drew back in distaste, but the man just gave her a boyish grin, raising his hand in greeting. “Hey, you must be the neighbor! I’m Kyuhyun. Cho Kyuhyun.” He stuck his hand out. “Nice to meet you.”

-----------------------------------------------------------

Here's the first chapter of Blurred Lines! This was mostly just a setting-up, an introduction of Seohyun (or Joo Hyun's) life. It's quite obvious why most people don't particularly like her - she's all prim and proper, and some may think she's even a little stuck-up, but the truth is that she's just quiet by nature and does her best to avoid conflict (even when people whisper about her and insult her she just takes it in stride). It's only at home that she can show real displeasure or any feelings at all, because that's where she's most comfortable. 

Kyuhyun, on the other hand, we've only seen a quick glimpse of. He's wild, and likes to make a noisy racket, which pisses off Seohyun before they've even met. Talk about bad first impressions, huh? 

Next chapter should be up within an hour or two (I'm rushing this for the competition >< Hope I can finish in time)

Anyway, remember to comment and subscribe!